A number of different justice organisations will be impacted by the new Disclosure and Vetting service. These include:

Police including local criminal records disclosure record unit,

Prison and Probation

Offender support organisations

Police, Prison and Probation Staff

Police are checked under police security systems. Under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act, all prison and probation officers would have been checked and monitored for their ongoing suitability for the role , as prisoners and people on probation would have been considered as being ‘vulnerable adults’. It remains to be clarified whether this level of protection will be reduced under the halving of the numbers promised under the Protection of Freedoms Bill.

Specialist Services – Criminologists and Psychologists

Specialist criminologists and experts on sex offender behaviour are able to provide modern perspectives on the risk of reoffending and the behaviour of paedophiles. These include:

Mark Williams Thomas is a former police detective and criminologist with far-reaching experience of working at the centre of high profile investigations. He is called on by the national media to comment on child protection

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation believes that child sexual abuse is preventable and that we can have a society where children are free from sexual abuse and exploitation.

Pam Wilson Associates – Senior Prison Psychologist

Offender Support Orgaisations

Howard League for Penal Reform is the oldest penal reform charity in the UK. It was established in 1866 and is named after John Howard, one of the first prison reformers. The blog of Director Francis Crook is an up to date summary of key issues.

NACRO – The charity called the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NACRO) was established in 1966 to help ex-offenders resettle, to work with individuals at risk of getting involved in crime, and with communities to help prevent crime. In 1999 it changed its name to Nacro.

UNLOCK, the National Association of Reformed Offenders is an independent charity and membership organisation, led by reformed offenders – there are around 8 million people on the Government’s Offender Index.

Children’s Rights Alliance for England (Crae) protects the human rights of children by lobbying government and others who hold power, by bringing or supporting test cases and by using regional and international human rights mechanisms.